Services may be provided by one or more operating units in a computer-based network. Users of the network may generate specific tasks and send the tasks into the network to be assigned to one of the operating units. For example, a user at a computer terminal may generate a printing order using a printer driver installed on the terminal. The printer driver is used to control the printing request. In another example, a user at a computer terminal may generate a printing order and send the printing order into a computer network so that the printing order is completed by a printing service. The printing order may be related to a company brochure. The printing order may contain unique requirements such as paper type, font size, layout, graphics, color, and other requirements. The user may specify that a specific printing service, such as Kinkos, prepare the company brochure. Alternatively, the computer network may include programs that suggest printing services to the user.
To control the printing job, the user's computer terminal may generate a job ticket. The job ticket includes the requirements, such as the requirements listed above, and an identification of the specific job that allows the job status to be tracked through the computer network.
Use of the job ticket allows printing and similar services to be allocated to those resources (i.e., the operating units) that are best suited to completing the services. Unfortunately, current computer systems do not allow access to the wide variety of services existing in networked computer systems, such as the Internet. In addition, current systems require users to have some knowledge of the existing resources, and may require users to include applicable programming to communicate with the services. Furthermore, current systems do not allow a job request to be split among several processors. As a result, completion of the job request may take longer than necessary, and may not be completed in the most efficient, lowest-cost manner. Finally, current systems do no provide adequate security for job tickets.